Knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy among primary, secondary and tertiary level teachers

The attitudes toward people with epilepsy are influenced by the degree of knowledge of the condition. Teachers usually do not receive any formal instruction on epilepsy during their training. This study was done to access three hundred teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy by answer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria 2001-09, Vol.59 (3-B), p.712-716
Main Authors: Dantas, F G, Cariri, G A, Ribeiro Filho, A R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
attitude
Awareness
epilepsy
Epilepsy - psychology
Female
First Aid
Health Education - standards
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
NEUROSCIENCES
Prejudice
PSYCHIATRY
public awareness
School Health Services
Schools
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teaching
Urban Health
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Summary:The attitudes toward people with epilepsy are influenced by the degree of knowledge of the condition. Teachers usually do not receive any formal instruction on epilepsy during their training. This study was done to access three hundred teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward epilepsy by answering a questionnaire in order to quantify their knowledge, attitude and practice toward epilepsy. Almost all the teachers had heard about epilepsy yet could not demonstrate discrimination among the students. Some teachers still thought that epilepsy was contagious. A few others either objected to having epileptic children in their classes or did not think that an epileptic child could achieve higher studies. The knowledge about the clinical characteristics and initial procedures to attend a person during a seizure was unsatisfactory. We conclude that schools should offer some kind of knowledge or assistance in health services and physicians must ensure that these teachers have sufficient knowledge of epilepsy. Also general public education campaigns should be encouraged in this field.
ISSN:0004-282X
1678-4227
0004-282X
1678-4227
DOI:10.1590/S0004-282X2001000500011